Michigan

Bazuin and Staley go head to head

Dan Bazuin and Joe Staley met on the field for the first time as NFL players when the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers met in an exhibition game last Saturday night. However, matching up with one another during the game was not always easy.

August 27, CMUChippewas.com Returning to the field with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter, Staley looked across the line of scrimmage and saw former CMU teammate Dan Bazuin staring back. The feel-good moment ended abruptly when Staley remembered his blocking assignment for the pair's first meeting in a professional game: he would have to perform a cut block, a maneuver designed to trip up an opponent by diving at his knees. This against a former teammate who has been recovering from a knee injury suffered not long after April's NFL Draft.

"My responsibility on that play called for me to cut him," Staley said. "I had to because we were running a quick slant and he needed to get down. I told him afterwards when I helped him up that I felt bad about it."

The play was the first in a six-play touchdown drive for the 49ers. Staley and Bazuin lined up across from each other for just two series, playing mostly to a stalemate.

"It was a little weird, I have to admit," Bazuin said. "To see him across from me and have it be a game situation, it was definitely a little strange. But, it was fun at the same time to be able to play against him.

"We were joking about it after the game," Bazuin said of the cut block on the opening play. "I was saying, 'My mom is going to be so mad at you.' It's just something he had to do."